The use of magnetic field measurement devices (e.g., magnetometers) in prior art subterranean surveying techniques for determining the direction of the earth's magnetic field at a particular point is well known. The use of accelerometers or gyroscopes in combination with one or more magnetometers to determine direction is also known. Deployments of such sensor sets are well known to determine borehole characteristics such as inclination, azimuth, positions in space, tool face rotation, magnetic tool face, and magnetic azimuth (i.e., an azimuth value determined from magnetic field measurements). While magnetometers are known to provide valuable information to the surveyor, their use in borehole surveying, and in particular measurement while drilling (MWD) applications, tends to be limited by various factors. For example, magnetic interference, such as from the magnetic steel components (e.g., liners, casings, etc.) of an adjacent borehole (also referred to as a target well herein) tends to interfere with the earth's magnetic field and thus may cause a deflection in the azimuth values obtained from a magnetometer set.
Passive ranging techniques may utilize such magnetic interference fields, for example, to help determine the location of an adjacent well (target well) to reduce the risk of collision and/or to place the well into a kill zone (e.g., near a well blow out where formation fluid is escaping to an adjacent well). U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,488 and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/368,257, 10/368,742, and 10/369,353 to McElhinney (herein referred to as the McElhinney patents) describe methods for determining the position of a target well with respect to a measured well (e.g., the well being drilled) in close proximity thereto. Such methods utilize three-dimensional magnetic interference vectors determined at a number of points in the measured well to determine azimuth and/or inclination of the target well and/or the distance from the measured well to the target well.
The methods described in the McElhinney patents have been shown to work well in a number of borehole surveying applications, such as, for example, well avoidance and or well kill applications. However, there remain certain other applications for which improved passive ranging techniques may advantageously be utilized. For example, well twinning applications (in particular in near horizontal well sections), in which a measured well is drilled essentially parallel to a target well, may benefit from such improved passive ranging techniques. Therefore, there exists a need for improved borehole surveying methods utilizing various passive ranging techniques.